Book of Dreams
by ZenIaidoka
Summary: The Cave of Origins collapses and everyone barely escapes with their lives, well almost everyone. But what exactly does this have to do with a book? And who is the shady person who claims to be writing this book? Gen 1 must find all this out and more if they hope to ever truly seal away the darkness from Agarest forever. First fanfic, reviews appreciated. AU
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Agarest War.

"No, ELLIS!" Leo screamed as the cave collapsed. He went to run into the avalanche of rocks only to be held back by Zerva.

"Leo it's too late. She is gone now." Dyshana said, expressionless as ever.

"Her fate...has been met." Vira said solemnly.

"No, I made her a promise! I told her I would always protect her!" Leo finally broke free of Zerva's grip. "She's the only reason I'm still here! She's the reason this all started!" Leo was on his knees, clawing at the debris.

"Leo, stop. She may have gotten you started on this path, but she would be ashamed if you didn't finish." Fyuria said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"She's...she's right, Leo." Luana said, trying unsuccessfully to hide her deep sorrow. Only Dyshana was able to mask her emotions, while the others were clearly angered and saddened. Borgnine hadn't moved during this entire situation. He was just standing there, staring at the wall of debris and rock where his master was surely buried.

"I'll...I'll end this war! No matter the costs, if only for her!" Leo's tears quietly slid down his face. No one had ever seen him cry before.

Ellis woke up, although she still saw only darkness. It was hard to distinguish the unconscious world from the waking world. She blinked a few times and saw she was in a dimly lit cave. "How did I get here?" She wondered, absentmindedly rubbing her head. "Ow, why does my head..." Her eyes went alight with realization. The cave, the monstrous beast chicken, and the collapse of the cave. She had fallen behind as she had gotten wounded in battle. Leo had even offered to carry her, but she foolishly tried to tough it out. Now here she was in a cold, dark cave. "They're probably looking for me right now, yeah that's it." Her voice sounded hollow, forced and scared.

"No one's looking for you." A cheery, upbeat voice boomed in the darkness.

"Who's there?!" Ellis jumped to her feet, only to have her wounded leg give out on her.

"Oh just another missing person." He stepped into the light, causing Ellis to recoil in surprise.

"You're a skeleton!" She covered her mouth and her eyes went large with fear. She was looking a tall, pale man with milky white eyes and stark white hair. He looked as though he might die any second. His ribs were disgustingly exposed through his skin, and she could probably trace a vein from his foot all the way to his heart.

"Ha ha ha...ha! No youngling, I just look like one. Food is very scarce in this cave. But I would be a sick man not to share any of my food with an injured young girl." He withdrew a small satchel from his long, tattered robe. He held out a small piece of bread to her. She cautiously accepted and took a curious bite out of.

"It's delicious, but where did you get bread?" She asked as she finished it.

"You would be amazed what people leave behind. Did you enjoy my last piece of bread." He asked as he took a seat, beaming at Ellis. His smile reminded her once more his skeletal qualities, making her gasp uncontrollably once more.

"I'm so sorry!" She said, her eyes averted politely.

"It's fine, child. Most people would sooner kill me than speak to me. Although you can imagine I don't get many visitors around here." He gingerly placed the satchel into some unforeseen pocket.

"So how long have you been down here?"

"I've lost track of the years to be honest with you." He admitted, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Do you have a name?"

"Uh...well...no. I can't remember what my name was. Do you remember your name?" He asked, looking at his new-found companion.

Yes, my name is Ellis."

"Nice to meet you, Ellis. I'm sincerely sorry I can't give you a name. But enough chit-chat, we need to take a look at your leg back home." He started to get up.

"Oh no, it's fine really. I'm perfectly fine." Ellis inched away from him.

"Come on now, do you really want to just hope and pray that leg heals itself or would you rather a professional took a look at it." He was a polite distance away, awaiting her response.

"Professional?" Ellis looked at him, clearly confused.

"Yes, a long time ago I was a healer. A really good one if I remember right. Could mend broken bones in a heartbeat, stitch up wounds in seconds, and save lives in a matter of minutes. Now come along." He offered her his hand and a smile.

"No, really I can stand by myself." She said, forcing herself to get on both her legs. She took three baby steps before she passed out from she pain. The man shook his head at her stubbornness and proceeded to carry her off.

Ellis awoke to an ever shifting light and had to cover her eyes. That was when she realized she was covered in a plethora of fur blankets. She was wrapped from head to toe, all except for her lower right leg which had been elevated on even more blankets. She then saw that the room she thought she was in was still a cave, except somebody had spent a great deal of time working on it. They had made this part of the cave into a roughly rectangular room, adorned the walls with ghostly blue candles, and laid out fur rugs on the cold, stony floor. "Oh good, you're awake. Welcome to my humble little abode, it's not much but it's still home." He was sitting in a chair, his milky eyes fixed on her leg. "Now I suppose it's time we do something about that leg of yours, Ellis." He got out of his chair and walked out of the rectangular room through an unseen door. Ellis heard the sounds of rummaging through containers and what not.

"I need to tell him I can heal myself. But I feel so sleepy..." She had to force he drooping eyelids to stay open.

"Aha! Here it is." He returned back into the room with a satchel that looked identical to the one from earlier.

"I...don't need...more food." She managed to force the words out of her lips.

"This isn't food, it's medicine." He pulled out something that looked like a common weed Ellis and the others had seen on her way to the Cave of Origin.

"The others! My friends! I need to get out of here!" She shot up in her bed, earning her a shot of searing pain on her whole right leg.

"Whoa, take it easy now. Now why don't you tell me about these friends of yours. I'm sure they are wonderful people." He urged her to tell him a story with his eyes, they were staring intently at her own.

"Well there is Luana, she is very...unique. She is good at dancing and is a very nice person." He nodded and beckoned her to continue on. "Then there is Zerva. He is very strong, but also stubborn. He's nice to me though." Ellis closed her eyes, but continued talking. "Then there is Zerva's sister Fyuria. She scares me sometimes, but she is still really nice and pretty too. Next is Borgnine, he's like my own teddy bear. He also keeps me safe from monsters. Dyshana I don't know too much about, she doesn't really talk much about herself. Lastly we have Leo and he is strong, kind, and very brave. He promised to protect...me..." Ellis fell asleep as the man continued his work of mending her broken leg.

"Sounds like she misses them dearly, poor girl. I'll have to get this leg fixed as soon as possible." He muttered to himself. The blue candles were burning low by the time he was gingerly placing a splint on her leg. "There that should be..." He took a huge yawn. "good enough for now...now she...just needs time...to...let...it..." He fell out of his chair onto one of the fur rugs, and was asleep before he even hit the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Record of Agarest War

Ellis woke up to the strange blue glow of her room, alone. She went to sit up and felt only numbness. "My leg, I can't feel it." She then saw the wooden splint affixed to her leg. She was about to call out to her caretaker when she heard some mumbling and muttering from the next room. She also heard what sounded like furious scribbling, a quill viciously biting into paper.

"No, no, no. That would never work, perhaps. Ah yes, that's it!" He sounded like a giddy child as more scribbling was made audible. Ellis shifted slightly in the bed, causing a tiny creak to echo throughout what she presumed was the rest of the house. The sounds of writing immediately stopped and the sound of a large tome being shut echoed in response. He walked into the room and looked at Ellis.

"Good you're up, you must certainly be hungry. Let's see if I can't find you something to eat." He disappeared into another door that Ellis was unable to see. She was steadily becoming more and more curious as to why this bed was isolated from the rest of the house. He returned and tossed her an apple.

"Sorry there isn't more, but I was barely scraping by as it was." He muttered that last part to himself.

"What were you just writing?" Ellis asked, taking a bite out of the apple. It was much more sour than she was used to, causing her face to pucker. He couldn't suppress his snicker.

"Oh nothing, just a little project I have been working on for quite some time. So how is your leg doing?" His comical expression turned to one of serious concern.

"I can't feel my entire right leg, so I wouldn't know." She then sat up with little effort. "But that no longer hurts."

"Yes I suppose I overdid the numbing agent a bit, but oh well. Just a few days more in bed then you should be able to walk with a little effort. A few more after that you'll be walking fine. Am I a good healer or what?" He didn't seem to be asking her, but more himself.

"Just a few days for a broken bone?! How is that even possible?" Ellis thought, beside herself with delight. She would be out of this cave in just a week. It seemed to good to be true.

"But for the time being, don't you dare put any strain on that leg. If you break a bone while it is still setting, well the results are...disturbing to say the least. You must certainly be excited though, you'll be out of here in just a week and half at the latest. Then you get to go back to your family." He had a very contemplative look on his face as he leaned against the wall, stroking a nonexistent beard.

"Family? My only family is my grandfather and I don't know when I'll ever be going back." She had a look of utter surprise on her face, to which his own face mirrored perfectly.

"Oh, sorry. It's just that well, you, talk in your sleep a lot. Those people you told me about earlier, you called them, your family." There was a long silence in the room, only the constant drip of water off the cave ceiling.

"I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I'm sorry." He made a move as though he was about to leave.

"No, wait. You don't have to go it's just that. I talk in my sleep? How bad is it?" She tried her best to veer away from this topic.

"It's terrible! I thought I would go mad from your incessant chattering." She gave him a death stare. "Joking, only joking. But it sounds as though you've had a hard life. Oh I mean, no I didn't. I'm sorry to pry." He left before she could say another word to him.

"Okay, I'm going to lift you out of the bed now. Tell me immediately if." Ellis cut him and gracefully hopped out of bed. "I really do make a great healer don't I?"

"I suppose you do, and I'll never be able to make this up to you. Your healing helped my leg recover in only a few short days. Just three days ago I was cowering in fear of you, unable to stand on my own two feet." She continued praising him, causing some color to show in his pale cheeks.

"Oh stop, you're giving me too much credit. High elves are hearty creatures not to be stopped by something like a simple broken leg. Now you probably want to start moving around a little, work out some of that stiffness that I guarantee will have built up in your joints. But if you start feeling dizzy or feel like there is too much strain, stop whatever you are doing and sit down in a comfortable position. Then when you are feeling back up to it, walk back to your bed." He was being completely overbearing on her.

"Jeez, I'm fine alright. You're a healer, you're not my...father." They both stopped and stared at each other. He left the room after awkwardly clearing his throat.

Ellis took this time to begin exploring this man's home as soon as she heard the incessant scribbling once more. She would finally be able to leave this tiny room. She walked through the doorway, only to be greeted with a long, narrow corridor. There were at least five doorways on each side, each of them covered with a length of fur for privacy purposes. She didn't even know where to start, so she went into the closest one. It was little more than what she assumed was once a storage room, because now it was practically empty. There was almost nothing of interest so she stepped out and went a little further down the hall. She walked into another room, but it was somehow even more empty than the storage room. As a matter of fact it was just an empty room. She continued searching around, until she came to the conclusion that there were only three rooms with anything in them. Her cramped little bedroom, that pitiful storage room, and his room. She stood just outside of it, listening to rhythmic pattern of his quill strike paper again and again. That's when she started to feel dizzy, and the world began spinning around her. She fell through the doorway, knocking down the fur and becoming entangled in it. Her leg and splint had gotten wrapped up and were held tight by the rough material. She was faintly aware a thunderous boom, or at least that's what it sounded like to her as the tome cover slammed shut. She also heard the quill roll away on the floor.

"Ellis, go back to your room." His voice was extremely quiet, but demanded her respect. His tone was deadly serious.

"I, I can't." She would appear rather comical to most, and she might have even laughed if not for his tone. He hauled her to her feet and threw her onto his left side, forcing him to support her right leg. He didn't say a word as he gently placed her back on the bed and removed the fur covering from her head and body. He turned his gaze to her at last and she recoiled. He was staring daggers at her.

"Don't ever step foot into my study again." His voice quiet and calm, with an undertone of malice. Ellis had never seen him mad before, much less like this. He sounded as though he would kill her if she ever stepped into that room again.

"I just want to see Leo." She whispered as she buried her face into the soft fur blankets.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Record of Agarest War

"Ellis, come on. I think you're ready now." He told her, his mix of emotions stifling his words. He was happy to have helped someone, but so sad to see them leave. It felt as though they had spent so little time together. "I'm sorry about these past few days, it's just that..." He trailed off, unsure of where to begin. He looked extremely fragile and delicate to Ellis right now, as though he may fall apart right now.

"It's not your fault, everything's going to be fine." Ellis said, while embracing him. His eyes began to water.

"Well this is embarrassing. I'm a twenty something grown man, being consoled by a little high elf. But thank you so much Ellis. Come on, I'll show you the way out of here, and take this." He handed her one of the ethereal blue candles that she had grown to love. "It's very dark where we are headed, so we'll need some light. Let me just gather some traveling gear and we'll be on our merry way." Ellis nodded and waited politely for him to return. He came back but he didn't appear to have anything else on his person besides another candle.

"Okay, right this way Ellis." He lead her into a door just passed his study, one that she hadn't noticed before. "Now watch your step, follow your gut, and whatever you do don't hesitate. These caves have taken the lives of many." He disappeared into the seemingly endless void. "Well you better hurry, you have to move fast. The mountain grows restless with visitors."

Ellis had a lot of trouble keeping up with him in the caves. She mostly had to get by on the faint blue glow of his candle reflecting off the walls. "Ellis I want to tell you something." She heard the words echo from somewhere ahead of her.. They sounded deep and threatening. "I want to let you know that I will always be there for you, and I would like to make you a promise." Her mouth was agape, the shock plastered on her face like a fresh coat of paint.

"A...a promise?" Her voice sounded small and afraid. She wasn't even quite sure who she was addressing that question to. Him, herself, nobody. Right now it didn't matter though, she needed to pick up the pace.

"Yes, I...promise...to..." The words were coming from so far away. She was quickly losing track of herself in this dark world. She could feel the panic threatening to erupt from her entire being. "Help...your...dream...come..." A great thunderous roar shook the cave, a sound she was too familiar with.

"STOP! THE CAVE IS COLLAPSING!" She poured her heart and soul into the scream, but it was useless. The requiem of boulders smashing against one another easily drowned her out. She did the only thing that came to her mind. She embraced the panic, using it to fuel her sprint through the cave. She very narrowly missed being squashed or smashed to pieces thanks to her petite childish frame. She dropped her candle somewhere in the chaos but didn't have time to worry about it. "Do you want light, or do you want life?" She found the words sliding from between her lips quite often as she ran. She had no idea of where to go, there was no sign of him, and worst of all this avalanche showed no sign of even beginning to slow down. She stopped when her form collided with a wall, headfirst. "Maybe, I'm just, destined to, die in a cave." She thought as the waking world left her once more for the familiar black void that was unconsciousness.

"Guys give her some space! She needs to breath." Ellis heard the feminine voice and wondered if she had died.

"Is it your voice, mother? But if it is you why are you talking..." She stopped thinking, it was too difficult to think, much easier to just be in a state of half consciousness.

"Hey, her breathing is picking up. Somebody go get him!" This time it was a man's voice, one she could not identify just like the female voice from earlier. Ellis heard the light foot falls of someone running as fast as they could.

"You mean she's alive? This isn't some wonderful dream? Or twisted nightmare?" This voice, she had heard many times before. But it was still too difficult to think, she just rather sleep.

"Yes, Leo. She's alive." Ellis' eyelids began to twitch then slowly, ever so slowly, her eyelids ascended. She was immediately blinded by the light and colors. So many indistinct shapes, but they were so colorful. They shone brighter than the dim blue candles her eyes had become accustomed to. She blinked a few times and the shapes responded, becoming clearer and clearer with each blink. She was surrounded, by friendly faces. She knew most of them, but not all. There was man, a woman, Fyuria, Vira, Luana, Zerva, Borgnine, and Leo.

"Ellis, do you remember us?" Leo asked gently, having been the first person to ask about her head injury.

"Of course I do, Leo." That moment changed the entire mood of the little camp. They had been fighting a grim, desperate war. Watching people needlessly die and having seen one of their own die. But here she was, a little worse for wear. But she was alive. Everyone was smiling, grinning, and tearing up. Ellis struggled, trying to get into a sitting position.

"Wait Ellis, let one of us help you." Leo said and then went to precisely do that.

"No Leo, I'm fine. I can do it just fine." She sat herself up and looked around. They all lost it, unable to hold in their feelings anymore. They crowded against Ellis and scooped her up into a group hug. Even Borgnine seemed more emotional than normal. But Ellis counted one missing, that's when she spotted her. Dyshana was off to one side, staring at the peak of the mountain that the group must have been headed to. Her face was an expressionless mask as always.

"How did you survive, Ellis?" Leo found himself asking as the day changed to night. They had seen to Ellis' wounds and given her some warm tea to drink.

"These mountains are rather chilly at night. So here." The unidentified human woman had handed her some tea. "I'm Elaine by the way, very nice to meet you, Ellis." Ellis had almost instantaneously grown fond of Elaine, she seemed caring, kind, and generous.

"Well to be quite honest I'm not really sure myself. There was very little food in the caves, but I got plenty of rest." She wasn't even sure if what happened in those caves did truly happen, and if it did well she might keep it to herself until she was ready. "I had little scraps of food here and there."

"For two months?! You survived off of scraps for two months? Quite a strong, young maiden aren't you." The man from earlier was walking over. "But you must tell me your secret, how you managed to stay looking so young and lithe off of only scraps." This man was wearing the most ridiculous grin on his face, and Ellis was sure that she already knew the type of guy he was.

"Ellis this is..." Leo trailed off with a sigh, burying his head in his hands.

"Winfield, my fair maiden. Winfield the hero, at your service. But if you do excuse me, I think I have to go break that up over there." He directed their attention to where Fyuria and Luana where having yet another altercation. "Well who knows how long this one will take, see you around Ellis." Winfield left with a wink.

"Thank the stars in the winter sky that he's gone." Leo muttered just loud enough for Ellis to hear, causing her to giggle.

"Two months eh? I must admit that is quite impressive." Leo said, wondering how this innocent, young girl survived in a dark cave for two months.

"It was really more like a week and a half." Ellis said, almost causing the blood to drain from Leo's face.

"Ellis, during that week and a half, we stopped Gridamas with help from Rigulus and the Frontier. We're on our way to seal away the darkness forever as we speak. Right now we are on the Kaystros Mountains, heading straight for that pillar." Leo turned his head and pointed at the giant, towering pillar. Ellis had always seen it when she was younger but never thought much of it.

"So, I'm going to lose you forever...?" Ellis asked, her voice emotionless.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Record of Agarest War

"None of you are bothered by this? None of you?" Ellis asked Fyuria, Luana, and Elaine.

"We came to terms with this a little while back, Ellis." Elaine patiently explained. "Before we brought Gridamas to justice we asked Leo what kind of woman he was looking for, and what he thought of each of us."

"So, what did he say?" Ellis was more than a little shocked to find that these women had realized they were just pawns to be tossed aside unless Leo said so.

"Well he was more than happy to tell us what he thought of each of us. He only ever had good things to tell us." Luana chimed in.

"Yes, but he avoided any questions of his idea of what he wanted in a woman." Elaine added, sighing sadly.

"In the end, he did not make it clear which one of us he preferred. So here we are, being strung along until the very end." Fyuria added darkly.

"So now all we can do is wait." Elaine finished. Ellis looked at Leo, who was leading the group up the treacherous mountain path. He appeared to be in deep conversation with Dyshana, no doubt over his destiny.

"So you're just going to follow him to the end?" Ellis looked at them, their faces grim and determined.

"What choice do we have? Not like we expect a child like you to understand." Fyuria turned the full force of her gaze upon Ellis.

"Enough of that Fyuria, you're going to give her nightmares." Elaine scolded.

"You're such a cold, dark woman, Fyuria. Scaring children is pretty...barbaric." Luana looked at Fyuria and the two exchanged heated glances.

"I'd rather be a barbarian than an 'exotic' performer." Fyuria said, a little grin creeping up on her face. The four of them smacked into the rest of the group, as they were bringing up the rear.

"Stop!" They heard Leo's order cut through the growing wind as the group halted to a stop. There it was, the Dark Knight. "Fan out in a standard field, use whatever you can to your advantage, and we'll kill this demon." Leo's voice was filled with absolute conviction and determination.

The battle had erupted without warning, the Dark Knight seeming to glide over the turf. He was extremely fast, with Fyuria being the only one who could even hope to match his speed. But even she fell short. "He's able to move freely in full battle equipment, meanwhile I can't keep up with him in a simple long coat." Leo thought as his mind worked furiously to try and find the quickest way to defeat this monster. His friends were not even able to hold their ground against the Dark Knight, forcing them all to go on the defensive. The Dark Knight was easily controlling the flow of this battle, just waiting to eliminate these threats whenever he deemed it necessary.

The battle raged on for the half the day, the Dark Knight never seeming to tire. He effortlessly had disabled all of Leo's comrades until it was down to just Leo and the Dark Knight. "For all this time we have spent fighting him, I came up with no plausible solution to counter his speed...Except this." Leo said to himself in a whisper. The Dark Knight seemed to comprehend what was coming and adjusted his stance, burying his boots into the mountain turf. Leo couldn't help but smile at this, he was falling for his plan. Leo held his blade behind him, took a deep breath, and charged. "ARGH!" His yell came out more as a primordial roar as he charged the Dark Knight. In a blinding flash of light, the world seemed to speed up. Ellis could only watch on in awe as Leo's blade sent the Dark Knight out of the edge of the plateau. The Dark Knight didn't even yell or scream, instead he plummeted to the ground in stony silence.

"Leonhardt, you have almost completed your journey. But for tonight I believe we all need some rest, tomorrow shall be the day your destiny is fulfilled." Dyshana announced for all to hear.

"How did you do that Leo? You were almost to fast for the eye." Winfield asked, referring to the final blow. Leo scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and laughed.

"I have no idea, to be quite honest. But enough talk, I think Dyshana is right as usual. We all need some much needed rest." Leo walked over to the his bedroll and collapsed, and for the most part the others followed suit. Even Dyshana seemed to have become weary over today's events.

Ellis' eyes opened to reveal a familiar, skeletal face standing over her. "Ellis, thank the frozen sun you're alright. I've been looking for you since the collapse." Ellis was about to say something, but was immediately hushed. "Listen, take this and guard it with your life. Keep it hidden from everyone. But that's not all I'm here for. You need to follow them inside tomorrow. No matter anything else, follow Leo into that pillar." Before she could even open her mouth to speak he disappeared into the darkness, leaving her to question if he was real or not. She came to the conclusion that he must be since when she awoke in the morning, she found the book to be carefully stashed away in her things. It was still dark when awoke, but she couldn't bring herself to sleep. She got up and wandered a little ways away, only to be greeted by Fyuria.

"Oh, hello Fyuria." Ellis said, carefully managing her tone to sound as friendly as possible.

"Good morning Ellis, take a seat next to me." Fyuria said, wihout her characteristic cold tone. "What are you doing up so early?" Fyuria asked, looking at the little girl sitting next to her.

"I couldn't sleep very well." Ellis told her.

"Yes I've had terrible insomnia as well. But, well, you can imagine tonight was especially bad. I just don't know what's ahead of me on this path." Fyuria blew out a sigh, her face now wearing a contemplative look. Ellis wasn't quite sure how to continue this conversation, feeling as though Fyuria had put her in a precarious situation.

"Everyone, come quick. There is someone by the seal!" It was Winfield's voice that interrupted the awkward silence.

"I feared he would make himself shown. Be careful, Leo. He will be unlike any foe you have ever face, save for maybe the Dark Knight." Dyshana warned him, looking at the pale figure in the distance. His snow white hair dropped to just a few inches below his shoulder. Just from the way he was standing, Leo could tell he meant business.

"I'll fight him if he tries to stop us, but" Dyshana cut him off, stepping forward.

"Ziofax, the Spirit Vessel will fight you in unarmed combat." Dyshana announced.

"I decline these terms." Ziofax started walking towards the giant spire.

"No, Leo stop him. Don't let him get close." Dyshana told Leo. This new information galvanized Leo into action, pumping pure adrenaline he shot off after Ziofax.

"LEO!" Ellis took off after him. This prompted the other maiden to follow him as well. Leo and Ziofax were almost there now, with Leo about to outrun Ziofax. The girls were not far behind either, seeing the love of their life risking his life once more poured life and energy into their war weary bodies.

Leo had beaten him to the pillar and stood defensively in front of it. "I won't allow you come any closer! It's my destiny to seal evil away!" To this, Ziofax simply shook his head.

"If you wish for it so bad, then be my guest!" Ziofax tackled Leo into the pillar, with the girls right on Zio's heals. In an immense explosion of energy and magic, the world turned a luminescent shade of green. The onlookers had to cover their eyes lest they be blinded by the intense eruption of light. When the dust finally cleared there was no trace of anyone by the pillar.

"They're...gone..." Dyshana was amazed the seal had accepted so many and dropped to her knees. "This was not how it was supposed to be."

Author's Note

This chapter seems kind of all over the place to me, so I might rewrite it.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Record of Agarest War

Leo felt it all around him, the void. "If this is what death is like, it's actually a lot softer than I imagined." Leo seemed to be able to grasp the darkness, and compact it. It formed a little ball in his hand and he simply dropped. "Although I go mad out of boredom." Leo felt as though he was laying on this endless, dark void for what felt like an age. Finally he started to hear the voices.

"Get up." It was a whisper, barely audible. It seemed to slide into his right ear, coil around his brain, then slink out his left. "Get Up." It was started to get louder, and it was iterating at a much faster pace. "Get Up! GET UP! GET UP! GET UP! GET UP, GET UP GET UP!"

Leo was finally jolted awake, and he immediately had to shield his eyes from the harsh light. It seemed to be coming from all around him. That's when he realized that this so-called void was nothing more than snow, the color of sleek obsidian. "What is this?" Leo wondered as he slowly gathered himself. He tried to stand, but his legs refused to hold his weight for more than a few seconds. After finally gathering his composure and poise, he stood back up. "I'm not sure if it was better when I was hallucinating or not." Leo realized this bleak, wasteland of dark snow seemed to stretch all the way to the horizon. "Might as well get moving, but which direction." Leo found the sound of his own voice to be calming. "Perhaps that's why I was such a good leader." He toyed with the ridiculous idea before shaking his head. "Enough nonsense, gotta get moving before I freeze." As Leo senses returned to him, so did the utter chill of the land. He began to trek towards what he assumed was south, but he wasn't completely sure that it was.

* * *

"Well, here we are, but where's Leo." Luana looked to her only companion.

"What, you assume because I'm a syrium I have an innate ability to navigate the wilderness? How stupid can one woman be?" Fyuria asked, looking around their new surroundings.

"True, I suppose it will take an exotic woman such as myself to find my Leo." Luana said with a sad sigh.

"Did you just say your Leo?! Leo's not yours, if anything he should be mine. Besides don't you owe your fans an 'exotic dance' or two?" Fyuria finished her sentence with a smug little grin.

"There's no reason to be jealous of my abilities with men, Fyuria. Perhaps if you were a tad nice, I would be inclined to show you a thing or two." Luana winked at her, causing Fyuria to blush.

"I...I don't need, lessons from the likes of you." Fyuria seemed to be stumbling over her words in an adorable manner.

"Winfield was right, you know. You really would be the perfect woman if you weren't always shouting." Luana giggled as her friend's face continued to redden with embarrassment.

"You just need to shut up, okay. Why are we even talking about this?! We need to find a way out of these hills, preferably to somewhere that has firewood. Not waste our energy arguing with each other." Fyuria hid her relief when she saw Luana shrug.

"I suppose you are right, it won't do if I freeze to death out here. Then my poor Leo will have to enjoy your company." Luana made it sound as though Fyuria's company would be worse than the death sentence.

The pair had made significant progress in traveling, not like they would be aware of that though. The snowy hills seemed to continue forever, and the sun was moving at a snail's pace across the sky. "We, need, to, stop." Fyuria took deep breaths in between each word.

"Yeah, you're, right." Luana seemed equally exhausted. "But, I, was...thinking, what, if Leo, is with, Elaine, right now?" Luana somehow managed to gather the energy to force that startling idea out to her friend.

"I, can't say, I haven't, thought about, it. But Leo, would still be, looking for us." Fyuria said, before collapsing on the snow.

"I hope you're right, for both of our sakes." Luana muttered that last part, so it was practically a whisper.

* * *

"Is anybody else here? Hello! HELLO!" Leo was shouting at the top of his lungs, but his words were ripped from his mouth by the wind. He had learned quite quickly that the wind is a fickle thing in this strange, snowy land. Most of the time it was just a gentle, chilling breeze. Other times it was a roaring torrent of snow, ice, and fear. Occasionally there wasn't any wind at all. That was by far the scariest time to Leo, the severe lack of sound made his heart pound faster, as though it was trying to get more blood into his ears so he could hear something. Another notable thing of this land was the sun, it seemed to never or just barely move. It made telling time nearly impossible, if telling time even mattered in this icy hell. "Being alone, I can deal with. The wind, I can deal with. The sun always shining, I can still deal with. But all of these put together, I'll go mad by tomorrow. If tomorrow ever comes. Wait! What are you saying? You are Leonhardt! The Golden Leo of Gridamas! You faced down the Dark Knight, and were more than ready to throw yourself into that pillar! You can't let insanity be the death of you!" Leo found it strange to be referring to himself in a manner such as this. "But you, no I! I will press on. I, Golden Leo, will press on through this land. But how far will I go? What if I'm the only one here?"

Leo stopped in his tracks, thinking of that terrible possibility. "No, the others are here, somewhere. That...thing. What did he say, something about the girls being right on his heels. Perhaps if I find him, he will lead me to the others. Yes, that's it. Just find, what Dyshana called him something? What was it? Ziafux, Ziufox, no wait, Ziofax! Just find Ziofax and you will find everyone else." Leo had to forcefully eject all other thoughts from his head.

"This will keep me going, because if I die in here, I'm failing everyone and breaking my word with too many people. I refuse to accept that!" Leo continued his seemingly endless trek, to find a way off of these snowy fields that stretched for miles and miles on end.

* * *

Fyuria was awoken by the sounds of shivering and coughing. "Ugh...so cold." She turned to look at Luana's sleeping form. The poor girl was practically shaking out of her skin and had a slight cough. "Morning Fyuria, oh wait, my bad. It's still afternoon." Luana said, plastering a smile on her face.

"Luana, you sound awful, and you're shaking like a madman. Didn't you pack any, less revealing clothes?" Fyuria had picked her woods carefully, trying to still keep the mood light. Luana couldn't help but laugh.

"What kind of dancer, wears a giant winter coat? Besides, how are you not freezing your little revealed hide off?" Luana's angered curiosity was all too evident.

"I mean, it's cold. But it's not freezing cold, at least not to me. Seems like humans aren't well adapted to these colder temperatures than syrium." Fyuria hypothesized, although Luana couldn't help but notice the smug undertone in her little science lecture.

"Well don't you have any warm clothes, and if we are to talk about revealing outfits. You are the worst culprit out of the two of us." Luana said, pointing a finger at Fyuria's garments.

"But this is just, clothing. Humans wouldn't understand syrium clothing anyways. But no, I don't have anything to keep you...WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Fyuria screamed when Luana huddled up to her.

"So warm. So wonderfully warm." Luana was snuggled up close to Fyuria, rubbing her cheek on Fyuria's shoulder.

"GET OFF! NOW!" Fyuria tried to her best to pry off Luana, but to no success.

"If I don't do this, I'll die. Besides, you syrium are just so warm. It's really no big deal, we're just sharing body heat."


End file.
